Monthly Archives: August 2015

Special Note: I will be in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Thursday, September 3 and available to take a limited number of tutorials/one-on-one discussions in the morning. The venue is to be decided. There is no cost to existing clients. Email me (see contacts) or phone if you wish to make an appointment.

Dear HB Creativity clients and friends,

After an unpredictable but hopefully refreshing summer in many places, we begin the season that, for me, is the most natural and exhilarating one for writers and readers. Nights drawing in often means early mornings or long evenings tapping away at the keyboard and a buzz of creativity in the air.

To add to the optimism, there is a lot of exciting news from alumni — contracts signed, books coming up and contests won. To break with tradition, I will be highlighting two or three of these titles each monthly issue, giving more focus than before to those authors and books than has been the case up to now.

If you need an extra shot of creative incentive, look out for the new Instant Hook Literary Contest. The (postmark) deadline will be December 7. Full detailswill be posted later in September on this site.

Gerard Doran’s just-published novel, A Stroke in Time (Flanker Press), has gathered an impressive number of reader endorsements already. It is the turn-of-the-century tale of a former champion Outer Cove oarsman John Whelan who believes his time as a rower has passed. His wife pretends to agree. “Breaking your back down on that pond,” she tells him, “that’s a young man’s sport.” But a fracas with the Torbay rowing crew in a St. John’s tavern rekindles his desire. With the regatta just ten months away, can he and cox Watt Power assemble a championship crew in time? The answer is the stuff of legends.

A Stroke in Time is Gerard Doran’s debut novel. Inspired by true events, this story of the record-breaking Outer Cove rowing crew of 1901 is a tribute to the everyman hero and a dedication to the outport fishing culture of more than a century ago.

“I can’t imagine how any fan of sport or Newfoundland history wouldn’t adore this book. Doran has constructed a love letter to both.”Allan Hawco, Writer, Actor, Producer

The Author: Gerard Doran, currently a resident of St. John’s, Newfoundland, grew up in Outer Cove, a former fishing village five miles from the capital city. He has been active in the sport of rowing for many years as a rower and a coach, and he is a two-time Royal St. John’s Regatta championship coxswain. Gerard is a member of the board of directors of the regatta committee. A Stroke in Time is his first novel.

Glenn Deir — The Money Shot

Renowned journalist-author Glenn Deir has just signed a contract with Rebecca Rose of Breakwater Books for the upcoming novel, The Money Shot — a wild, satirical take on the life of a journalist.

Sebastian Hunter is a rake and seducer. He’s also a damn fine TV reporter. One of CBC’s best. Sebastian has the money shot the world is clamouring to see – a stately house falling over a cliff. Newscasters from Paris to Jerusalem are transfixed and saying his name.

It’s all lining up. Sebastian is engaged to the boss’s daughter. The brass has decided he’s the flavour of the month. Here & Now needs a new anchor. Sebastian Hunter is about to become a star. Except, foreign correspondent Ethan Tremblay gets in the way. He’s every bit the swaggering, conceited journalist that Sebastian is. Somebody’s career has to die. And if that happens on the air, all the better.

The Author: Glenn Deir is a former reporter who spent most of his career chasing the money shot for CBC television. He brings over three decades of newsroom black humour to The Money Shot. It will be published in Fall, 2016 by Breakwater Books.

His previous book, Sick Joke, was a memoir: a funny account of two journeys – Japan and throat cancer. It was a finalist for a Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award in 2011.